The Blotter

Witnesses to a downtown purse-snatching followed the suspect, confronted him and detained him until police arrived, Seattle police said Monday.

The strong-arm robbery occurred shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday as a woman was leaving her workplace in the 1100 block of Fourth Avenue, police said. The suspect knocked the woman to the ground and fled on foot north on Third Avenue.

A witness to the crime followed the suspect in his car to the 1500 block of Third Avenue and, with help from another unidentified person, confronted the suspect and held him until a patrol sergeant drove by, Detective Mark Jamieson said on the Seattle Police Department Blotter.

An off-duty police officer also ran to the disturbance and helped to handcuff the suspect, Jamieson said.

An adult male was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of charges of robbery.

Grant County sheriff's detectives are seeking the public's help in finding two people wanted in connection with a shooting and robbery Tuesday near Moses Lake.

The suspects are Bryan G. Brodil, 23, and Ivy R. Ramos, 27, pictured here. Police believe they robbed and shot two people, who are in critical condition at a local hospital, the sheriff's office said.

Arrest warrants have been issued for Brodil and Ramos for first-degree assault with a firearm and first-degree robbery with a firearm. Bail is set at $500,000 for each.

Brodil was described as a white male, 6-feet-6-inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and multiple tattoos, including a Japanese symbol on his neck, spider webs on both arms, and tattoos on his hands and fingers.

Ramos was described as an Hispanic female, 5-feet-1-inches tall, 130 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a butterfly tattoo on her left foot.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the two is asked to call the Grant County Multi-Agency Communications Center at (509) 762-1160, or send information to crimetips@co.grant.wa.us. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Three convenience stores in and near Lynnwood have been robbed recently by the same knife-wielding man, police say.

In all three robberies, the man flashed a knife at clerks, displayed a plastic bag, demanded cash and fled on foot, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

The first robbery took place at 11:23 a.m. Aug. 8 in the 20900 block of Cypress Way in unincorporated Lynnwood. The second happened at 9:34 p.m. Aug. 19 in the 6100 block of 176th Street Southwest in Lynnwood.

The third occurred at 11:02 p.m. Monday in the 3600 block of 164th Street Southwest outside of Lynnwood city limits.

The suspect was described as a black man, in his 20s or 30s, more than 6 feet tall, weighing 230 to 260 pounds. He wore dark clothing in each of the robberies and wore a baseball cap and red bandana to cover part of his face. Police on Tuesday released a surveillance video from one of the robberies in which the man's face is visible.

It's possible the suspect is associated with a white Ford Mustang passenger car made after 2000, police say. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office tip line at 425-388-3845.

A man was arrested in connection with a home invasion robbery Monday in south Seattle. Police are searching for four other suspects.

A teen, 17, was alone at his home in the 4200 block of South Rose Court about 1:30 p.m. when two women, who had been at his home the previous night at a party, knocked on his front door, according to police.

They told him they left a phone charger there. Then three men, wearing red bandannas over their faces, entered the home and told the teen to get down on the floor. One of the suspects struck the victim in the head with a pistol, police said.

The suspects ransacked two bedrooms after kicking in locked doors. The victim escaped and ran to a neighbor's house and called police. The suspects then fled.

Later Monday police saw a car with a broken tail light parked at Rainier Avenue South and South Edmunds Street and one of several men near the car matched the description of one of those involved in the home invasion robbery, said police.

All but one of the men fled. The one who remained was wearing clothes similar to those worn by the suspects, and had a red bandanna in his back pocket, police said.

The 20-year-old suspect was taken into custody and later booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Police believe the vehicle might have been used in several recent burglaries and the car was impounded. The case is under investigation.

Beating up and robbing someone is never a good idea, but doing it to a co-worker?

What's more, the suspect in the case allegedly offered the victim $100 not to go to the cops.

Seattle police say a man was leaving work to catch a bus last week when a guy came up from behind and started hitting him about the head and back. The victim fell to the ground and was left nearly unconscious for a short time.

The victim immediately recognized his attacker as a guy he knew from work, police said.

The incident occurred Aug. 25 along the 1700 block of Fourth Avenue South shortly after 4 p.m.

After the victim was knocked to the ground, the suspect grabbed the victim's backpack containing an I-Pod, I-Touch, a wallet, and other personal items and ran off..

The victim reported the attack to police and he and other co-workers identified the suspect as the attacker, police said.

The victim told police he had worked with the suspect for about five months and that he was sure he was the man who had beaten and robbed him.

The victim also showed police text messages from the suspect who said he'd give the victim $100 if he didn't go to the police.

Detectives arrested the suspect Thursday at work and booked him into the King County Jail.

This is one of the surveillance photos Seattle police released to the media earlier this month.

Seattle police have arrested a 29-year-old woman in connection with the stabbing last month at a Belltown ATM.

The victim was withdrawing money at around 2:15 a.m. July 30 from an ATM on Third Avenue and Battery Street when someone came up from behind him and stabbed him in the back. The assailant then took the man's money and fled, police said.

The victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound, according to police.

During their investigation, detectives obtained surveillance video from the ATM and distributed images of a possible suspect to the media. Police said at the time that the woman shown in the surveillance photos may have witnessed the assault and may have been with three suspects.

The photos resulted in a tip identifying the possible female suspect, according to police.

The suspect was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Kent. She was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Seattle police are investigating two unrelated robberies that occurred Friday in North Seattle on Lake City Way Northeast.

The first robbery took place at 11:03 a.m. at a pharmacy in the 14300 block. A man pulled a gun and demanded that specific drugs be put in his backpack.

Nobody was injured and no shots were fired.

According to Seattle police Detective Jeff Kappel, police are looking for a 6-foot-3 white man in his 20s, about 170 pounds, wearing a black hooded jacket and black pants. He may have fled south on 35th Avenue Northeast in a dark blue Suburban.

The second robbery took place at a bus stop on the southwest corner of Northeast 125th Street and Lake City Way.

As a waiting passenger took out his bus pass, two suspects entered the bus shelter and one knocked the passenger to the ground. They took money from his wallet, threw the wallet back at him and ran west on 125th Street.

The suspects were described as two black males in their 20s, one with long dreadlocks and the other wearing a baseball cap.

Seattle police have arrested a 55-year-old man suspected of stabbing and robbing two prostitutes earlier this year. The man was arrested Tuesday at his home in Bellevue, according to the Police Department's blog.

According to police, in January the man picked up a 27-year-old woman in the 300 block of Eighth Avenue North. After receiving a sex act from the woman, the man stabbed her with a knife in the hip and arm. The man then stole the woman's purse and money, police said.

In March, the same man picked up a 28-year-old woman in the same area and stabbed her in the leg with a screwdriver and stole her money.

Detectives interviewed both victims and developed information that led to the suspect, police said.

The suspect was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery, according to police.

Edmonds police are searching for the man who robbed a Starbucks store on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, the man approached an employee at the Starbucks in the 21900 block of Highway 99 and demanded money. The man did not display a weapon, police said.

He walked out with an undisclosed amount of cash, which he wrapped inside a newspaper.

The robber was described as a white man 20 to 30 years old, about 5-feet-7. He wore a dark blue or black T-shirt with an abstract graffiti-like painting on the front and denim shorts, sunglasses and a black Mariners baseball cap, which he wore backwards. He was carrying a black and beige backpack.

A 69-year-old man was attacked and robbed early Wednesday morning in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, police said.

Police found the victim on the ground just after midnight in the 300 block of Cedar Street. He was bleeding from the head. Seattle Fire Department medics took the injured man to Harborview Medical Center.

A witness told police he saw the victim lying on the ground and surrounded by four or five males. He said one of the men stomped on the victim's head, and then reached into the victim's back pocket to remove what appeared to be a wallet.

The witness ran to the victim's aid, scaring off the attackers.

Police searched the area but didn't find any suspects.

The assailants were described as black males in their mid-20s, all with a medium build. The "main suspect" was wearing a blue and yellow striped polo-type shirt and denim shorts, police said.

The site of the attack is not far from the spot where a man was stabbed and robbed early Saturday morning after using an ATM.

A man was stabbed and robbed early Saturday morning as he was withdrawing money from an ATM, Seattle police said.

The victim told police he was withdrawing money at around 2:15 a.m. at an ATM on Third Avenue and Battery Street when a man came up from behind him and stabbed him in the back. The assailant then took the man's money and fled, police said.

The victim was treated at the scene for a stab wound to his upper back and was then taken to a hospital with what police described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Police, responding to a report of a vehicle prowl in North Seattle early Monday morning, arrived to find the suspect being held down by two men while a woman stood over them holding a baseball bat.

According to police, the victim confronted the suspect just before 5 a.m. as he was prowling the victim's pickup in the 10700 block of Fremont Avenue North. The suspect knocked victim down and struck him. The two men fought until two other men and the bat-wielding woman arrived to help the victim.

Police determined the suspect had stolen construction equipment from the victim's truck. The items were recovered from the suspect's vehicle, which was parked down the street. Police also found a knife, which they believe had been dropped by the suspect in the struggle with the owner of the truck.

The suspect, 46, was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Everett police have released this sketch of a woman believed to be responsible for several espresso stand robberies in North Everett.

The robber is a white woman in her 20s, between 5-feet-5 and 5-feet-8, with a slender build and reddish-brown hair. She has worn a gray or black sweatshirt. In one robbery, she wore a baseball cap.

According to police, the woman generally enters the espresso stands through unlocked doors and tells the baristas that she is being robbed. In one of the robberies the woman threatened to stab a barista, although no weapons have been seen in any of the robberies. The robber has also tries to force the victims to hand over their car keys, but was successful only once.

The robberies occurred on May 16, May 25 and June 5.

Anyone who recognizes the woman is asked to call the Everett Police Department TIP LINE at 425-257-8540.

Seattle police arrested a 19-year-old man Tuesday in Mountlake Terrace in connection with a March 18 assault and robbery near the University of Washington.

The victim, a 20-year-old man, was walking around 12:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of Northeast 50th Street when a car pulled up next to him and a man inside asked for directions. As the victim approached the passenger side of the car the man inside the car grabbed the victim's cell phone. The victim tried to retrieve the phone, but the car accelerated, dragging him a short distance. The man in the car then punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

On March 27, police in Pullman were conducting an unrelated investigation involving the same suspect when they found the victim's cell phone in the suspect's backpack. On Monday, the victim was shown a photo montage and positively identified the suspect.

The suspect was arrested without incident at his Mountlake Terrace home and was then booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

A man and woman were arrested Wednesday in Lynnwood in connection with the strong-arm robbery of a woman April 15 near the Northgate Mall, Seattle police said.

The victim, a 19-year-old woman, was walking near Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 102nd Street around 4:18 p.m. when a man grabbed her purse. The woman clung to the purse, falling to the sidewalk. The man dragged her as she held the purse until a witness came up and scared off the man, police said.

The victim suffered an injury to her left knee, but didn't require medical attention, police said. She was able to provide descriptions of the man and the vehicle, which led detectives Wednesday to a home in Lynnwood.

At about 1 p.m., robbery detectives interviewed a man and woman at the Lynnwood home and later arrested them in connection with the robbery. The robber is believed to be a 28-year-old man. The woman, 21, is the suspected getaway driver, police said.

Both were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

An 18-year-old man who was among five people involved in an attempted robbery at the Eastside home of medical-marijuana advocate Steve Sarich last year was sentenced Friday to just under eight years in prison.

A 21-year-old man was arrested early Tuesday morning after he allegedly assaulted a man who refused to hand over his wallet, police said.

At about 3 a.m., the victim was getting on his motorcycle in the 4700 block of University Way Northeast when another man approached him and demanded his wallet. When the victim refused, the man punched him in the face, and then began kicking him when he fell to the ground.

Seattle Police have arrested a man suspected of committing several armed robberies in Ballard beginning in February.

On Feb. 25th a man was confronted by another man who was armed with a handgun. The armed man demanded the victim's wallet, money and cellphone.

Shortly after the robbery, surveillance video at two cash machines captured the suspect using the victim's debit card and the images from the video matched the description of the robbery suspect.

On March 8, robbery detectives saw the suspect and a companion in the Loyal Heights neighborhood, wearing some of the same clothes the suspect had in the ATM photos.

Detectives took both men into custody. The companion was released and the 20-year-old suspect was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery. Police believe he may have been responsible for four other armed robberies in Ballard.

Here's a surveillance photo of the robber taken during the Nov. 30 holdup.

A man arrested Monday morning in connection with a robbery at the Edmonds Pharmacy -- the fifth at the business since late November -- is believed to be responsible for all of the crimes, Edmonds police said.

In Monday's robbery, the man walked into the pharmacy around 9:15 a.m. wearing a dark hoodie-type sweatshirt, black pants, a surgical mask and gloves and handed the clerk with a handwritten note demanding narcotics. The suspect left on foot after obtaining Oxycodone and morphine.

Police located a suspect vehicle occupied by a man and a woman in the parking lot of the Premera Blue Cross complex in the 7000 block of 220th Street Southwest in Mountlake Terrace. Both were arrested without incident. The man, 32, and the 36-year-old woman are Everett residents.

The previous robberies believed to be the work of the same man were on Nov. 30, Dec. 23 and 31, and on Jan. 24 . In each of the robberies the physical descriptions of the suspect were similar and so was his clothing: a hoodie sweatshirt covering his head, a surgical mask and rubber gloves. Each time the man passed a pharmacy employee a handwritten note demanding narcotics.

The robber can be seen approaching the victim, who is standing at the rear of the white car, in this surveillance photo.

Lynnwood police are asking for the public's help in identifying the man who robbed an elderly woman at about 5 p.m. Friday in a retail parking lot in the 19500 block of Highway 99.

An 86-year-old Lynnwood woman was shopping with a friend when she was knocked to the pavement from behind by a man who then took her purse. The woman screamed, which got the attention of her friend. The friend, a 31-year-old woman, ran after the man and tried to stop him from getting into the passenger side of a sand- or gold-colored mini van.

The victim was not seriously injured.

The robber can be seen in the surveillance photo above as he approaches the victim, who is at the left. He is in his early 20s and wore a dark puffy coat, dark pants and a baseball cap. The second surveillance photo, below, shows the van.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Lynnwood police Detective Sean Gillebo at 425-670-5622.

Edmonds police are looking for a man who robbed a pharmacy Monday morning.

Just after 11 a.m., the man walked into a pharmacy in the 7600 block of 212th Street Southwest and handed an employee a note demanding drugs. The man wore a hip-length dark coat over a gray hooded sweatshirt. The hood was pulled up over his head and he also wore a mask and gloves.

Officers arrived and began searching for the suspect. Nearby schools -- College Place Elementary, College Place Middle School and Edmonds-Woodway High -- were locked down as a precautionary measure during the unsuccessful search.

A 22-year-old man who pleaded guilty to attacking a 16-year-old West Seattle boy because the victim was white was sentenced Friday afternoon to five years and nine months in prison by King County Superior Court Judge Carol Schapira.

Ahmed Mohamed, 22, pleaded guilty in December to first-degree robbery and to malicious harassment, the state's hate crime statute. He said that he and co-defendant, Jonathan Baquiring, 21, attacked Shane McClellan "because he was a different race than we are."

Mohamed is black and Baquiring is Asian, according to court documents.

Baquiring has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 22.

McClellan was walking home from a friend's house around 2 a.m. on May 25 when he was approached by the two men near the 7700 block of 14th Avenue Southwest. The two men asked the teen for a light and then assaulted him, according to court doucuments. Over a four-hour period, court documents allege, McClellan was beaten with his own belt, burned with cigarettes, urinated on, punched, kicked, robbed and taunted.

His attackers told him he was targeted because "the white man had kept them down," according to court documents.

Judge Schapira said it was clear from the court paperwork in the Mohamed case that the assault had been "something very hateful, something very humiliating."

A woman suspected of 15 robberies across the region has been charged by King County prosecutors.

Kristin LeClaire, 53, of Des Moines, was charged with one count of first-degree robbery and is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 27. Authorities have dubbed the robber the "Mrs. Doubtfire bandit' because of the dowdy clothing she wore during the crimes.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dana Cashman wrote in charging paperwork that "additional cases are expected [to be filed] as this investigation is ongoing."

LeClaire was arrested in Kent on Jan. 11 after the robbery of the Alaska USA Federal
Credit Union. A customer who witnessed the robbery confronted LeClaire outside the and ordered her to stop, according to charging paperwork. LeClaire threatened the man to "back off and reached into her jacket as if getting a gun," charges said.

The customer then flagged down a car and told the two men in the car what happened. The men followed LeClaire's Mazda until Kent officers arrived and stopped LeClaire's car, charges said.

According to the FBI, LeClaire could be responsible for 14 other robberies in the region since April. In many of the robberies, the suspect threatened to shoot tellers, charging papers said.

Kent police said that when LeClaire was arrested they questioned whether she was drunk because they could smell alcohol on her breath. She replied: "I'm not drunk, but I did need a little liquid courage," charges said.

When FBI agents searched LeClaire's home they found evidence from other bank robberies, charges said.

LeClaire has a prior conviction for DUI, Cashman wrote in charging paperwork. A woman with the same name and date of birth once worked for The Seattle Times, as recently as January 2008.

An Everett man who authorities say participated in an plan to steal a Jeep Cherokee in Shoreline last month was charged Tuesday with attempted first-degree robbery.

Lorenzo Leon, 21, has an extensive juvenile criminal history and at least one felony conviction as an adult, according to court records. Leon allegedly participated in the attempted car theft the day after he was released from jail on an unrelated incident, according to prosecutors.

King County prosecutors say that Leon and Harold Clayton Donald, also 21, tried to steal a Jeep belonging to Gordon "Mac" McWhirter, 56, on Dec. 17. Authorities say that McWhirter was seriously injured when he tried to stop the men. McWhirter remains hospitalized for head injuries he suffered in the attack, said King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Steven Kim.

Donald is accused of stealing McWhirter's bathrobe in the attack.

Donald, of Kent, was charged last week with first-degree assault, attempted first-degree robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle in connection with an unrelated stolen car case, Kim said.

Donald was arrested after investigators said he gave his mother the victim's bloody bathrobe as an early Christmas gift, according to charges.

UPDATE on Jan. 3, 2011: The victim's pickup was found abandoned in Lynnwood on Dec. 31, King County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said. No arrests have been made.

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL BLOTTER POST FROM DEC. 28: A 92-year-old Shoreline man was duped into letting two men in their 20s into his house on Monday, and was robbed and tied to a chair with masking tape, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

It took the man over an hour to chew through the tape and free himself, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart. Other than some bruises, the man was not hurt.

Around 11 a.m., the man -- who lives alone in the same house where he's lived for 35 years -- answered a knock at the door, Urquhart said. Two young men told him their car had broken down and asked to use the phone, Urquhart said.

The man allowed the two inside and sat in a kitchen chair while one of the younger men used the bathroom, Urquhart said. When he came out, the man and his accomplice used masking tape to tape the homeowner to the chair.

The two spent over an hour rifling through the older man's possessions, eventually leaving with $400 cash and stealing the man's gold, 2000 Ford R-10 pickup with Washington license plate number B34861L. The truck, which has not been found, has a silver bulldog on the hood.

Anyone who sees the stolen truck or knows anything about the crime is asked to call 911 or 206-296-3311.

Mill Creek police and sheriff's deputies have arrested a 29-year-old Everett-area man in connection with a string of espresso stand robberies, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office

The man was arrested Tuesday night at his home and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of four counts of first-degree robbery.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the incidents occurred:

-- Dec. 9: At about 4:30 p.m., a man drove up to an espresso stand in the 14700 block of Seattle Hill Road just outside Mill Creek city limits, demanded cash and displayed a large knife. He drove off after getting some cash.

-- Dec. 9: Less than 45 minutes later, a barista at an espresso stand in the 17900 block of Bothell-Everett Highway was robbed at knifepoint by a man who matched the description of the suspect in the first robbery.

-- Dec. 13: At 1:20 p.m., a barista at an espresso stand in the 15100 block of 35th Avenue Southeast in Mill Creek refused to give the man money.

--Dec. 13: A few minutes minutes later, a man demanded money from a barista at an espresso stand in the 13000 block of Bothell-Everett Highway in unincorporated Everett. The man displayed a knife and demanded cash, then drove off after getting some money.

Sheriff's deputies used information provided by the victims to track down the suspect's vehicle, a green Mazda Protegé, in the driveway of his Everett-area home.

A teenage girl who made headlines earlier this year as the victim of a videotaped beating in the Seattle bus tunnel has been attacked again, according to a Seattle police report.

Police and prosecutors say in charging documents that Aiesha Steward-Baker, 16, was attacked earlier this month by several females, including one of the girls who had beaten her up last January in the tunnel. One of the attackers accused Steward-Baker of being a "snitch" in the earlier incident, prosecutors allege.

King County prosecutors filed a second-degree robbery charge against 20-year-old Alleicia E. Carson in connection with the Dec. 3 attack on Steward-Baker.

According to court documents, Steward-Baker and a friend were waiting at a bus stop near Macy's in downtown Seattle around 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 when they were approached by Carson and two teen girls, one of whom was the 16-year-old girl who had been Steward-Baker's primary attacker in the Jan. 28 bus tunnel incident. The other juvenile girl was identified as the sister of one of the men convicted of the tunnel beating.

According to charging documents, Carson saw Steward-Baker and asked loudly whether she was the girl that the 16-year-old had attacked in the tunnel. The three surrounded Steward-Baker and her friend, spit on them, pulled their hair and called them "snitches."

According to police, Carson was still fighting with Steward-Baker when officers arrived; the other girls fled. The others have not been charged, prosecutors said.

In the bus tunnel attack, surveillance video showed the 16-year-old following Steward-Baker into the tunnel on the evening of Jan. 28, according to the charges. The girl pushed Steward-Baker, who retaliated.

In the ensuing brawl, Steward-Baker wound up on the ground, and the other girl repeatedly stomped and kicked her in the head, chest and neck. Several males with the attacker could be seen on the video grabbing Steward-Baker's phone, purse and iPod, according to court paperwork.

The Times generally does not name juvenile suspects or the victims of crimes, but Steward-Baker was identified after she appeared at a news conference and on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The tape of the attack spawned outrage because several uniformed private security guards stood by and watched the beating, one from only a few feet away, without interfering. The private firm, Olympic Security, said its officers were forbidden from becoming involved in physical altercations.

Metro, police and the King County Sheriff's Office also were criticized.

The 16-year-old who attacked Steward-Baker in the tunnel was convicted of second-degree assault and sentenced to 15 to 36 weeks in juvenile detention. Two other teens involved in the tunnel beating were convicted of fourth-degree assault and sentenced to 30 days in detention.

The three adult males who were charged in connection with the tunnel beating pleaded guilty to first-degree theft. Latroy D. Hayman, 20; Domanique L. Whitaker, 18; and Tyrone J. Watson, 18, are scheduled to be sentenced on Friday. They face between two and six months in jail, prosecutors said.

In August, Steward-Baker was convicted of an unrelated robbery in Edmonds and sentenced to juvenile detention.

Three suspected robbers -- two men and a woman -- were arrested early Monday morning after police spotted their van being driven the wrong way on a one-way street without its lights on.

According to police, a man and his girlfriend were seated in his car in a parking lot in the 2200 block of Seventh Avenue around 4 a.m. when a blue van pulled up next to their car and two people got out. The two people stood next to the couple's car for a few minutes and then one suddenly opened the driver's-side door and punched the man at least three times while shouting, "Give me your money!"

At the same time another person got out of the van and ran around to the passenger side of the victims' car and opened the door. The robber tore off the woman's necklace, ring and bracelet and threw them on her lap. The woman was able to grab her jewelery and put it in her purse.

The male victim handed over his wallet to his attacker and was punched again. The robbers also made off with the woman's purse. The robbers then jumped back into the van and took off.

According to police, a van was stopped a short time later when it was spotted heading the wrong way in the 2200 block of Eighth Avenue with its lights out. As the officers were speaking with the driver about the traffic infractions, police received a radio broadcast on the earlier robbery. The descriptions of the robbery suspects matched the three people in the van.

The victims positively identified the three suspects -- ages 28, 31, and 38 -- who were later booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

The victim's purse was recovered from inside the van, police said. Seattle Fire Department medics treated the male victim for injuries to his face. He was later taken to a hospital for further treatment.

One of three females charged in connection with a string of stun-gun attacks in North Seattle earlier this year has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Shellyce Kinchen, 21, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree robbery. She was sentenced on Friday.

On Tuesday, fellow defendant Georgetta Jones, 17, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree robbery and was ordered to serve between 10 months to just over two years custody.

A third defendant, 26-year-old Tiffany Renfro, is charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of second-degree robbery and is slated for trial next year.

Police say the three drove around in stolen cars and used a stun gun to rob five women of their purses between May 17 and 24. Most of the victims were either unloading or loading their cars when they were attacked, police said.

The trio then used the victims' credit cards to purchase items at a number of shops, according to police. Some of the transactions were caught on surveillance tape and led to the identification of the suspects, according to police.

Seattle police arrested a 27-year-old woman Wednesday morning after she tried to stab a man, assaulted a woman and then punched a security guard.

According to police, the woman walked into a coffee shop near Third Avenue South and South Jackson Street around 10:45 a.m. and tried to stab a man who was seated at a table. Her weapon of choice, according to police, was a pen. The woman also threw down a note on the table indicating that she needed money to return to California.

The woman then walked outside, where she encountered another woman who was walking along the sidewalk. The pen-wielding woman showed the same note to the other woman and tried to steal her purse from her shoulder.

A couple of parking enforcement officers saw the two women struggling and intervened. They were able to get the would-be thief on the ground, but not before she before she clocked a security guard who came over to assist.

The woman was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of assault and investigation of robbery.

It seems her return trip to California has been put on hold indefinitely.

A man was shot early Tuesday morning during a home-invasion robbery at a home in Marysville. The victim, 47, is being treated at Providence General Medical Center in Everett and is expected to survive, police said.

According to Marysville police, the victim and two women, ages 26 and 19, were at a home in the 3200 block of Sunnyside Boulevard just after 2 a.m. when someone knocked on the front door and then started to kick their way inside. The victim, who was armed with a handgun, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the intruders.

Police tried to track the intruders but were unsuccessful. Police believe up to three people were involved in the home-invasion robbery.

Detectives say the home was likely targeted.

"We are very comfortable stating this was not a random home-invasion robbery and there is no additional concern of threat to our law abiding community members," Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said in a news release.

A 34-year-old man was arrested Sunday night after he robbed a South Seattle motel, police said.

At 7:30 p.m., police responded to a call of a robbery at a motel in the 7000 block of East Marginal Way South. The manager told police a man had argued with him and then broke a window to the front office and took cash from the drawer. The man left on foot, the manager told police.

Police interviewed a woman at the motel and she gave officers information on a possible suspect. Officers searched jail databases and obtained a photo of the man.

Police then contacted other motels in the area and learned the suspect was in a hotel in the Sodo area. The man was arrested. Police also found money believed to have been taken in the robbery in the man's room. The man was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Two South King County men arrested last week in connection with a home-invasion robbery during the early morning hours of Aug. 26 were charged Tuesday with first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary.

According to Seattle police, George Augustine, 37, of Federal Way, and Sean Oie, 45, of Burien, forced their way into a woman's house in the 7900 block of 4th Avenue Southwest, in the Highland Park neighborhood. They pointed a pistol at the woman, her roommate and her roommate's girlfriend, bound their ankles and wrists with duct tape and placed duct tape over their mouths and eyes, according to charging documents filed in King County Superior Court.

The home was ransacked, and the female homeowner was ordered to open a safe in her bedroom so the thieves could make off with two guns and about $10,000 worth of jewelry, charging papers said. The suspects stole television sets, credit cards, passports, cellphones, computers, DVD players, eight rifles and two cars, charges said.

Nobody was seriously hurt.

When police arrived at the home, the female homeowner said that one of the suspects had knocked on her door on Aug. 23 and asked for her husband. She said that she told the man that her husband was in a long-term care facility and no longer in the home, charging papers said.

Seattle police released images of the suspects to the media on Aug. 27 and tipster identified Augustine. When Augustine's wife and mother-in-law told him to turn himself in he refused, saying that a conviction would be his "third-strike" and result in a lifetime prison sentence, charging papers said.

Police identified Oie through Augustine'scell phone and discovered that he's the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims. After his arrest, charging papers say, Augustine told police that Oie planned out the crime with the help of his ex-girlfriend, the woman who was dating the homeowner's roommate.

Deputy Prosecutor Samantha Kanner, in charging documents, said that Augustine has prior convictions for possession of stolen property, drug possession, forgery, robbery and theft. Kanner said that if he is convicted on the new charges he would spend life in prison under the three-strikes law.

Kanner said that Oie has prior convictions for possession of stolen property, drug possession, assault and theft.

The 10-year-old boy who who police say shot himself in the arm Tuesday night during a botched robbery aboard a bus was ordered held in custody Thursday during a detention hearing in King County Juvenile Court.

The boy will remain in custody at least until his next hearing, scheduled for Tuesday. The boy's mother, Monisha Ford, cried when the court commissioner made her ruling; she had hoped he would be allowed to go home. The Times is not naming the boy because he is being prosecuted as a juvenile.

The boy, who is 4-feet-1, appeared in juvenile court with his right arm in a sling.

According to police, the 10-year-old was with a group of other juveniles when they tried to rob a 17-year-old boy on Metro's Route 7 bus. The 10-year-old ordered the older boy to empty his pockets while the other boys, ages 12, 14 and 15 surrounded the 17-year-old, police said.

The 17-year-old later told police he saw the 10-year-old unzip a backpack and reach inside. The older boy was afraid the younger boy was reaching for a gun so he grabbed him in a bear hug. During the struggle a gunshot went off inside the backpack, wounding the younger boy, police said.

The older boy feared the other boys would reach for the gun so he grabbed the backpack and ran out of the bus, police said. He was assaulted by the other boys after he left the bus, police said.

Police later found a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun in the backpack.

Seattle police say this isn't the first time they've encountered the 10-year-old. They say he has a history of assault and robbing people with a pellet gun.

A juvenile convicted last year in the slaying of Seattle's "Tuba Man" was convicted of second-degree robbery Monday in King County Juvenile Court.

The 16-year-old was accused of robbing another teen of a wallet and MP3 player in January in Seattle. He is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 30.

Although the standard sentence range under state guidelines is 15 to 36 weeks in juvenile detention, the King County Prosecutor's Office plans to seek an exceptional sentence of 52 to 65 weeks in detention.

The teen was convicted of manslaughter last year after he and two other teens beat 53-year-old Edward McMichael, a street musician known for playing his tuba outside sports arenas.

Police said McMichael was attacked shortly after midnight on Oct. 25, 2008, near Seattle Center.

McMichael was briefly hospitalized and then allowed to return home, where he was found dead Nov. 3, 2008, of injuries related to the beating. The teen, who is not being named because he is being prosecuted as a juvenile, served 36 weeks in detention for the manslaughter conviction, a sentence that was determined by laws limiting how long juveniles can be incarcerated.

After the boy served his time for the manslaughter conviction, he was released and a few months later participated in the robbery of a 17-year-old at the Garfield Teen Life Center in January.

A 45-year-old man was arrested early Tuesday morning after he allegedly robbed a woman while she was sleeping in a bus shelter.

The woman told police she was sleeping inside the shelter in the 2100 block of Fourth Avenue around 4 a.m. when a man began rummaging through her pockets. The man then wrestled the woman's backpack away from her and ran off.

The woman chased the man and the pair were spotted by a police officer who was driving by. The woman alerted the officer to the robbery. The officer followed the man into an alley, where he saw him rummaging through the backpack. The man spotted the officer and took off.

The suspect was arrested at Second Avenue and Virginia Street. The man was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

A man who stole from elderly women was sentenced in King County Superior Court Friday to 14 years in prison, above the standard range of up to seven years in prison.

Thahn Diep, who had previously spent two years in prison after being sentenced for similar crimes in 2000, pleaded guilty last month to six counts of residential burglary and one count of second-degree theft.

During a span of just a few months last summer, Diep duped and forcefully stole from seven elderly women who were likely targeted because of their age. He forced his way into women's homes and stole cash, jewelry and a even a dog in a one-man crime wave.

Two women who authorities say were part of a string of stun-gun attacks in North Seattle last month were charged Monday with two counts of first-degree robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and three counts of second-degree robbery.

Tiffany Renfro, 25, and Shelyce Kinchen, 21, and 17-year-old Georgetta Jones, drove around in stolen cars and used a stun gun to rob five women of their purses between May 17 and May 24, according to charging documents filed in King County Superior Court. Most of the victims were either unloading or loading their cars when they were attacked, police said.

The trio then used the victims' credit cards to purchase items at a number of shops, according to police. Some of the transactions were caught on surveillance tape and led to the identification of the suspects, according to police.

Jones was charged Wednesday in adult court with two counts of first-degree robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle. A fourth person, who is identified in court documents as Kinchen's boyfriend, was arrested but released pending further investigation, according to police.

Renfro "compellingly bears the characteristics of the primary robbery suspect as described by the victims," police wrote in the probable cause documents.

Jones, the alleged getaway driver, told police that she and Kinchen stayed behind in the car while Renfro used the stun gun on people, charging papers said.

According to police and prosecutors, Renfro has convictions for assault and possession of stolen property. Kinchen has convictions for possession of marijuana and possession of stolen property.

Seattle police are searching for two men who allegedly beat up and robbed a bicyclist in Magnolia early Sunday morning.

According to police, the victim was riding his bicycle near the intersection of 34th Avenue West and West Barrett Street at 1:42 a.m. when a black Infiniti drove by him. The vehicle stopped a short distance away then pulled behind the cyclist after he rode past, police said. The driver then pulled alongside the bicyclist and nudged him, knocking the man to the ground.

Two men got out of the car and began punching and kicking the bicyclist, police said. The men took the victim's backpack and got back into the car and drove north on 34th Avenue West. Officers were unable to locate the car.

Details about the bicyclist's injuries weren't released by police.

Police are investigating whether the same two men are responsible for another assault that occurred nearby about 30 minutes later. In that case, a man had stepped outside his house and was reportedly attacked by two men, who struck the victim with an unknown object in the head before fleeing. The victim suffered a cut above his left eye that required stitches, police said.

A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery early Monday morning despite his protests that he was actually the victim, police said.

Just after midnight Monday morning, Seattle PD Gang Unit detectives saw a disturbance in the 100 block of Pine Street in which two different groups of people claimed they had been robbed by the other party. After interviewing everyone involved, detectives learned that an intoxicated man had encountered the victim on the street and offered to sell him an ecstasy tablet, police said. The victim gave the man $20 for the ecstasy and waited as the suspect went to retrieve the tablet from a car.

The suspect's friends drove up and the suspect jumped into the car. The victim, intent on getting his ecstasy, also jumped into the car. The suspect then pulled out a knife and told the victim to get out of the car. The victim wisely complied, minus his $20 and ecstasy.

That was the point when detectives saw the disturbance and intervened.

Despite the suspect's claims that he was actually the victim, he was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Seattle police arrested two boys, ages 16 and 17, after they allegedly robbed a man who was trying to sell a watch on a downtown street.

According to police, the victim tried to sell the watch to the two teens at around 9:10 p.m. Friday near Third Avenue and Pine Street. But the teens weren't in a buying mood. One of the teens grabbed the watch from the victim and handed it to his partner, police said.

When the victim tried to get the watch back one of the teens motioned as if he had a gun in his pants, police said. The two teens then walked away and climbed aboard a Metro bus.

The victim called 911 and police stopped the bus at Third Avenue and Bell Street. The victim positively identified the robbers, who were arrested and booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery.

Seattle police, with an assist by a K9, arrested two men and a juvenile suspected of robbing and assaulting another man early Thursday morning.

At about 3:30 a.m., 911 dispatchers received a call of a man yelling for help near 11th Avenue and East Alder Street. While police were responding to the call they saw three suspects hiding nearby, police said.

A police K9 aided in the arrests.

Two of the suspects were taken to Harborview Medical Center, where they were treated for minor dog bites, police said. Two adult suspects were later booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery. A third suspect, a juvenile, was booked into the Youth Services Center for investigation of robbery.

According to police, the victim had walked into a store at 12th Avenue and East Jefferson Street and was confronted by two of the robbers who demanded money. The victim refused and one of the suspects punched him on the face, police said.

The victim took off running and yelled for help, prompting two witnesses to call 911.

Pauley was sentenced Friday afternoon in King County Superior Court to 17 years in prison for a crime spree in February 2009 that began only 28 hours after he was released from prison on burglary and theft convictions.

A jury last month found Pauly, 25, guilty of second-degree assault, first-degree robbery with a deadly weapon, attempting to elude and vehicular assault.

According to charging documents, the owner of a 1996 Jaguar was sitting in his car at the park-and-ride lot on 116th Way Northeast in Kirkland around noon on Feb. 14, 2009, when Pauley pulled a knife on him and ordered the man from the car. Pauley then drove away.

A few minutes later, Medina Police Officer Michael Girias spotted the Jaguar heading west on Highway 520 and began a pursuit. The pursuit led across Lake Washington to the southbound lanes of Interstate 5, where Pauley swerved across the freeway from shoulder to shoulder, the court documents say. At one point he nearly crashed into a marked Seattle police car.

Finally, the Jaguar rolled over police "stop sticks" that had been placed in the road to halt the chase, and slammed into several other cars, injuring a 28-year-old woman, Nielsen said.

Pauley, originally from West Virginia, has amassed a long criminal record of burglary, theft, assault and other convictions since arriving in the area several years ago, court records show. He has been jailed at least nine times in the past two years, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Seattle police arrested a man Wednesday night after he allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and robbed a woman.

Details are still sketchy, but here is what police are reporting:

At about 6 p.m., the 33-year-old man abducted a 19-year-old woman near 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street. The man told the woman he was armed with a gun -- although none was displayed -- and forced her into a car which he had stolen from a "friend" earlier in the day.

The man drove the woman to an apartment in the 6000 block of Lanham Place Southwest, where he attempted to sexually assault the woman, but was unsuccessful. He then physically assaulted the woman and stole her money.

The attorney for Aiesha Steward-Baker had earlier said she would plead guilty to the charge in juvenile court in connection with the robbery and assault of a Shoreline woman last May in Edmonds. But during a hearing Monday afternoon in Everett Steward-Baker did not plead guilty to the crime and now faces trial.

Deputy Prosecutor John Stansell said she has a right to a trial and he wasn't going to speculate on her motives. He said he had come to court expecting should would plead guilty.

Steward-Baker's attorney, Frederic Moll, did not comment.

Steward-Baker was punched and kicked by another young girl while several young men stole her purse and other belongings in the videotaped attack in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel on Jan. 28. The attack happened at the feet of two security guards who called for help, but did not physically intervene.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the bus tunnel attack.

On May 23, Steward-Baker and another girl allegedly attacked and robbedTamie Cox, of Shoreline, on an Edmonds street.

Cox said she was walking home from an Edmonds pub shortly after midnight when two "nicely dressed and polite girls" stopped and asked her for the time. When Cox pulled out her cellphone to check, the girls jumped her. One put Cox in a head lock and yanked at her hair while the second girl punched her in the face and chest and grabbed her purse.

The other girl has pleaded guilty in connection with the attack on Cox.

Cox, who was in court Monday, said she wondered if Steward-Baker wasn't thinking about suing Seattle over the bus tunnel incident and believed a guilty plea in this assault case could hurt her chances. She said she was disappointed the case will continue.

The Seattle Times generally does not name juveniles accused of crimes, but after the bus tunnel attack was disclosed Steward-Baker appeared in a news conference called by her attorney and on ABC's "Good Morning America." During her television appearance she recounted the transit-tunnel attack and the events leading up to it.

Police responded to a 911 call of a strong-arm robbery at 3:15 a.m. outside the store. The victim, a 25-year-old man, told officers that he was getting out of his car when a man walked up to him and demanded his keys. The man then struck the victim in the face three times. The victim ran off.

Witnesses reported seeing the assailant run off. A description of the man was broadcast by radio to officers in the area. Some officers recalled having an earlier encounter with a man matching the assailant's description and provided a clothing description.

Officers located a man matching the description. He was positively identified by witnesses. The man was arrested and later booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Police on Friday afternoon arrested a man accused of killing a toddler last year and robbing a pharmacy while out on bail earlier this week.

Officers from the Marysville and Tulalip police departments used a K-9 unit to locate James Fryberg, 21, in a makeshift camp near an abandoned logging road, said Ralph Krusey, spokesman for the Marysville Police Department, in a statement.

Police have been looking for Fryberg since Tuesday, when he did not appear for a hearing related to the murder charge. That same day, the Hagen Food & Pharmacy on 88th Street Northeast in Marysville was robbed by a man matching the physical description of Fryberg. The robber took a "large quantity of narcotic drugs," Krusey said.

A judge had revoked Fryberg's bail and raised it to $1 million. He is facing a second-degree murder charge related to the fatal beating in May of a toddler under his care at a Marysville apartment. Fryberg, who had been dating the boy's mother, told investigators the toddler had fallen down a flight of stairs, according to court documents.

This week, police received several anonymous tips that led them to Fryberg's camp in a remote area northwest of Quil Ceda Village, Krusey said. After apprehending Fryberg, they booked him in Snohomish County Jail.

James Fryberg, the 21-year-old accused of killing a toddler last year, is now a suspect in an armed robbery in Marysville that happened Tuesday evening.

Police were already looking for Fryberg after he missed a Tuesday bail hearing in connection with the baby's death.

Around 5:45 p.m. that same day, Haggen Food & Pharmacy on 88th Street Northeast in Marysville was robbed by a male suspect who matched the description of Fryberg, police say. Witnesses identified him through photo lineups.

Although no weapon was seen by pharmacy employees, the suspect implied he had a firearm when he "demanded prescription narcotics from the clerk," according to police.

Police warn that Fryberg is considered armed and dangerous. They are asking for anyone with information to call 911.

A $1 million arrest warrant for second-degree murder was issued by a Snohomish County Superior Court judge for Fryberg after his no-show at the bail-revocation hearing.

Prosecutors allege the toddler was badly beaten in May 2009 while under Fryberg's care at a Marysville apartment. Fryberg had been dating the boy's mother, who was at work at the time.

Fryberg told investigators the boy had tumbled down a flight of stairs, court documents say.

Fryberg is described as Native American, 5-feet-11 inches, and about 160 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair. His last known residence was on the Tulalip Reservation just west of Marysville.

The double-murder trial of a Quilcene man in the slayings last March of a man and his wife could begin as early as Wednesday in Jefferson County Superior Court, the Peninsula Daily News is reporting.

Jurors are expected to be seated by Wednesday in the Port Townsend trial of Michael J. Pierce, 35, who is facing numerous charges in addition to two counts of murder.

Pierce is charged with the March 18, 2009, slayings of Patrick, 60, and Janice Yarr, 57. Their bodies were found in a burned-out Quilcene farmhouse that prosecutors say was set ablaze to cover up the slayings. Bullet fragments found at the scene indicated that the victims were shot, according to the Daily News.

Prosecutors say they have video of Pierce using the Yarrs' credit card at a bank ATM.

In addition to arson and two counts of murder, Pierce has been charged with robbery, burglary, theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and theft.

A disabled man who was waiting for a bus in South Seattle on Friday was attacked by three teens who slammed his head against a wall and punched him in the face and chest. According to a witness, one of the teens yelled, "That's how we do it in the South End" as the three fled.

The victim, who was unable to communicate verbally with officers, gave paramedics a "thumbs up" when he was examined to indicate he was OK and did not require hospitalization, according to a Seattle police report. The report did not specify the man's disability.

According to the report, the man was waiting for Bus 107 at the King County Metro shelter at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street around around 8 p.m. when the three teens approached him and slammed his head into the glass wall of the shelter. They punched him, took his wallet from his back pocket, pulled a single dollar bill from it and then threw the wallet on the ground, the witness told police.

The witness said the primary aggressor was a teen with cornrows and a tan over-sized jacket, according to the report. The witness was unable to give good descriptions of the other two assailants to police, the report said.

The King County Sheriff's Office has arrested a sixth suspect in connection with the Jan. 28 beating of a 15-year-old girl in the downtown Seattle transit tunnel, according to a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office. The suspect, a 16-year-old girl, will have a detention review hearing at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in juvenile court.

Our news partners at KING-TV say she was arrested for investigation of second-degree assault. She is the third juvenile arrested in connection with the highly publicized attack.

Meanwhile, three men charged in connection with the beating and robbery of the girl pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning during their arraignment in King County Superior Court.

The three men, as well as a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, are all charged with first-degree robbery in the attack on Aiesha Steward-Baker.

If convicted as charged, two of the adult defendants, Latroy D. Hayman, 20, and Dominique L. Whitaker, 18, each face a sentence of 2 1/2 years to 3 1/2 years in prison. The third adult defendant, Tyrone J. Watson, 18, faces a sentence of three to four years in prison because of his criminal record.

Hayman's attorney requested a reduction in bail, but was denied. Bail for Hayman and Whitaker remains at $100,000 each. Watson's attorney requested his client be released on his own recognizance. The judge refused, but did lower his bail to $25,000.

In an attack captured by surveillance video, Steward-Baker is seen being pummeled and kicked in the head, allegedly by another 15-year-old girl, while several males grab the victim's phone, purse and iPod. For much of the attack, two unarmed security guards stand over the victim even as she is being assaulted.

The attack prompted King County Metro and law enforcement to increase security in the bus tunnel.

Also, since the video was made public it has been learned that Steward-Baker herself was charged last year in connection with the assaults on two people.

Deputies and detectives from the Metro Transit Police arrested a teen wanted in connection with the Jan. 28 beating of a 15-year-old girl in the Seattle transit tunnel.

Quashawn Monroe was arrested last night around 11. The 17-year-old was staying at a house in the 14000 block of 19th Avenue Northeast. Deputies were led to the house on a tip.

He was booked into the Youth Center for investigation of robbery.

Monroe is the fifth person arrested in connection with the assault and robbery of Aiesha Steward-Baker.

After the attack, four suspects were arrested: a 15-year-old alleged assailant (who is not being named because she has been charged in juvenile court); Latroy Hayman, 20; Tyrone Watson, 18; and Dominique Whitaker, 18. All four have been charged with first-degree robbery, a charge that could bring sentences of between two to four years, prosecutors said.

A 15-year-old girl was charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery in connection with the beating of another 15-year-old girl Jan. 28 in the transit tunnel at Westlake Center. The assault was captured on surveillance video, which is posted on our Web site.

Three other people, ranging in age from 18 to 20, have also been charged with first-degree robbery for their alleged involvement in the incident.

If convicted, the 15-year-old girl faces a standard range sentence of 103 to 129 weeks in juvenile detention. Under state law, she is required to remain in the juvenile court system and cannot face adult prosecution, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office. She remains in detention pending her arraignment Thursday morning in Juvenile Court.

We are not naming her because she is being prosecuted as a juvenile.

Two of the adult defendants, Latroy D. Hayman, 20, and Dominique L. Whitaker, 18, each face a sentence of 31 to 41 months in prison. The third adult defendant, Tyrone J. Watson, 18, faces a sentence of 36 to 48 months in prison. They are being held in the King County Jail on $100,000 bail each and will be arraigned on Feb. 24.

A 61-year-old woman fell victim to a couple of purse-snatchers early Tuesday morning.

The victim told police she was walking in the 600 block of Sixth Avenue South on her way to the bus around 6 a.m. when two males walked up, pushed her over and took her black bag. The bag contained $8, a bus pass and keys.

Police did not locate any suspects

The victim was given a ride home and a bus pass by a Metro supervisor.

A police account of the incident did not provide a description of the two men.

Two members of a University of Washington fraternity befriended four other guys at a bar on "The Ave" early Saturday morning. Sometime around 6 a.m., the group ended up at the UW students' frat house to listen to music, according to police.

At some point, police say, the frat members' new "friends" decided it was time to leave -- but not before grabbing laptop computers and clothing that belonged to the frat guys. When the frat guys objected, two of their new buddies implied that they had weapons.

Three suspects left the fraternity -- the police account doesn't name the frat -- while the fourth was waiting in a car outside. All four drove away. The frat members called police.

A short time later, a police officer spotted a car matching the description of the suspects' vehicle in the 10700 block of Meridian Avenue North. The driver tried to elude police, but the car was eventually stopped in the 10300 block of Densmore Avenue North.

Police say some of the stolen items were in plain view inside the suspects' vehicle. The two victims were brought to the location of the traffic stop where they positively identified all four suspects.

The four were arrested and booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

As for the frat guys, here's hoping they get extra credit for this lesson.

No one ever accused drug dealers of being the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

Last Saturday, a Seattle police officer working undercover was standing on a sidewalk on 35th Avenue Southwest when he asked a man he assumed was dealing drugs whether there was any crack to be found.

At first the man first accused the undercover cop of being a "federal agent," according to a police report. But the man's entrepreneurial spirit got the best of him and he told the undercover cop to wait and he would see what he could do.

The man crossed the street, went to a bus stop and talked to a second person, according to the report. One of the two men walked back over to the officer and looked at the money in the officer's hand. The man then pretended he was putting crack in the officer's hand, but only touched the officer's palm.

The officer became irritated and started to walk away, but the suspect convinced the cop to accompany him to a bus stop in the 6300 block of 35th Avenue Southwest.
The officer had $30 in his hand, according to the report. One of the men grabbed the money, punched the cop in the chest and started yelling, "Give me the money!"

The officer gave a pre-arranged signal for "help" and other officers descended upon the group.

One adult and two juveniles were taken into custody and booked on investigation of robbery.

Just after 2 p.m., Seattle Police robbery detectives and a SWAT team served a search warrant at the address and detained two people, a man and woman. Detectives interviewed and released both people, pending further investigation.

Our news partners at KING-TV say the investigation is focusing on an armed robber who has targeted drug stores looking for OxyContin. Police had a warrant to search the home for clothing seen in surveillance photos from some of the robberies, KING-TV reports.

Police say the man has robbed 10 pharmacies since October 2009. He has also robbed three espresso stands. The robberies have taken place primarily in the Seattle/King County area. The man generally approaches the pharmacy counter and demands OxyContin.

In most of the robberies he has implied a weapon, however, there has been a handgun seen in a few of the robberies.

Crime Stoppers last week released this surveillance photo of the man believed responsible for the robberies.

Seattle police say fingerprints left at the scene of a convenience store robbery and assault have led to the arrest of a suspect who confessed to the crime.

The robbery happened at around 10:45 p.m. Dec. 12 at a convenience store in the 6300 block of 35th Avenue Southwest. Two men tried to buy beer, but the clerk refused to sell it to them because they didn't have photo identification. The men then started throwing beer cans at the clerk, who ran out from behind the counter.

The men attacked the clerk, punching him in the face, neck and shoulders. One of the thugs walked behind the counter and took the cash register. Both men fled.

But the men left behind fingerprints on the beer cans they had hurled at the clerk. The prints were collected by police submitted for analysis.

On Jan. 25, a fingerprint examiner contacted the SPD's Robbery Unit and told them that they had matched one of the prints to a 19-year-old man. The clerk positively identified the suspect in a photo montage.

On Monday, detectives learned that the suspect had been booked into the King County Jail on an unrelated felony warrant. He was brought over to the Robbery Office for an interview. The suspect admitted his role in the robbery and assault, police said. The man was then re-booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Surveillance photo of man who robbed a Seattle grocery store on Monday.

Seattle police have released this surveillance photo of a man who robbed a grocery store in the 10200 block of Aurora Avenue North on Monday.

The man walked into the store around 9:15 a.m. and asked a clerk for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. When the clerk put the cigarettes on the counter the man put his hand behind his back, suggesting that he was armed with a gun. The man then walked behind the counter and grabbed money from the register.

Detectives believe the man is responsible for five other commercial robberies in the North Precinct. Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call either 911 or the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222-TIPS (8477) or text CRIMES (274637). Text messages should include "TIP486" to ensure proper routing.

A man who robbed and assaulted another man was taken to the hospital early Saturday after he suffered some sort of medical emergency, police said.

According to police, the victim, a 26-year-old man, was trying to enter his apartment building in the 1600 block of Melrose Avenue at 2:30 a.m. when he was approached by another man, 52. The older man grabbed the victim's groin and took his wallet.

A man suspected of stealing a woman's purse on Jan. 4 was arrested Monday afternoon in downtown Seattle.

The victim, a 42-year-old woman, was walking near First Avenue and Union Street around 4 p.m. Jan. 4 when a man grabbed her purse with so much force that the strap broke. He ran off with the purse. The victim chased the suspect and screamed for help.

Two witnesses also chased after the man and caught him. They returned the purse to the victim, who was not injured. Police responded to the scene and found the victim, but the witnesses and the purse snatcher had left the area. Robbery detectives obtained a surveillance video that showed the purse snatcher running from the scene.

On Monday, SPD bicycle officers spotted a man at Third Avenue and Pine Street who resembled the man caught on video. The officers arrested the 18-year-old and booked him into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Two men were arrested early this morning after they robbed a man of his iPod and other items in the Seattle Center.

The victim, 18, was walking through the Seattle Center grounds and listening to his iPod around 1:45 this morning when two men approached him from behind. One of the men removed the victim's headphones and took the iPod from the victim's pocket. One of the men had his hand in his pocket and claimed that he had a gun.

The suspects took other items from the victim and fled on on foot.

The victim called his father, who responded to the scene. The two of them drove around until the victim saw the two robbers. The father then called 911.

Police met up with the victim and his father, who told the officers where the two men could be found. Police located them in the 300 block of 5th Avenue North. Some of the victim's stolen property was recovered. The victim was also able to positively identify the two men.

Sheena Blackburn, 24, who was arrested with two men last fall for their alleged roles in a string of North Seattle robberies, pleaded guilty today to three counts of second-degree robbery.

Blackburn, who authorities say was the getaway driver, faces a standard range of 15 to 20 months when she is sentenced, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. When she returns to court on Jan. 22 for sentencing, prosecutors will be requesting that she serve 20 months behind bars, Donohoe said.

Blackburn has also agreed to testify against her co-defendants, Jarvis Gibbs and Clovelle Harvey, who are still facing charges in the case. The two men are slated to be tried later this month, Donohoe said.

The three defendants are believed to be responsible for at least some of a string of robberies in Magnolia, Green Lake, Capitol Hill and North Seattle. When the three were arrested police also detained several other people who were questioned and released.

Police said the break in the case came when a credit card belonging to the one of the victims was used at a convenience store. Within a half-hour of the robbery more than $160 in charges were rung up on the man's credit card at a nearby 7-Eleven, police said. Surveillance images from the store were obtained by police and distributed to the media, which led to the the suspects' identification.

At around 8:11 last night, a man was walking alone when he was approached by four youths. One of them asked for the time and the man rolled up his sleeves to show he didn't have a watch. The teens then asked for a dollar or some marijuana. The man said he had no money on him.

The teens then attacked the man, forcibly taking his hat and coat before fleeing. The victim immediately called 911.

The descriptions of the teens was broadcast to all responding South Precinct officers. A short time later an officer stopped four possible suspects in the 8700 block of Rainier Avenue South.

Officers brought the victim to the new location and he positively identified all four teens as the thugs who robbed him. Two were 15, one was 14 and the fourth was 13. All four were booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery.

Police arrested one man this morning in connection with the robbery and assault of another man who was waiting at a bus stop.

The victim, 25, was standing at a bus shelter at Rainier Avenue South and South Myrtle Street just before 2 a.m. when he was approached by three men. The three men assaulted the victim, taking his wallet.

Police apprehended one suspect three blocks away at Rainier Avenue South and South Othello Street. He was positively identified as being involved in the assault and robbery. The suspect, 31, was booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Two other men were detained by police at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street, but the victim could not positively identify them. They were interviewed and released.

Seattle police have arrested a suspected purse-snatcher believed responsible for four strong-arm robberies in the Rainier Valley between Nov. 19 and 22.

According to police, two teens were responsible for the robberies and were seen leaving the scene of each in a white sedan. Most of the victims were approached from behind and didn't get a good look at the suspects.

On Nov. 25, two teens were arrested in the Rainier Valley on suspicion of driving a stolen white Honda. The SPD's Robbery Unit was alerted and the suspects were questioned by detectives in connection with the robberies. Both denied involvement in the robberies and were booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of auto theft. At some point, the teens were released.

Last week, detectives interviewed a victim who talked to one of the suspects before she was robbed. She viewed a photo montage and positively identified one of the suspects arrested in the stolen Honda.

On Monday, robbery detectives tracked the suspect to an address in Tukwila, where he was arrested. He was booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery.

Four teens were arrested last night after they roughed up a man aboard a Metro bus and stole his iPhone, according to Seattle police.

Just after 9 p.m., the victim was sitting toward the front of the bus playing a video game on his iPhone. As the Route 8 bus pulled to a stop at Renton Avenue South and South Henderson Street, four teenage passengers got up from the back and started walking to the front as if they were planning to get off at the stop.

As the four -- three males and one female -- walked by the victim they grabbed the iPhone and tried to run away. The victim tried to hold onto the iPhone and was attacked. The victim let go of the phone to protect himself, police said.

The four teens got off the bus and ran off.

Police saw a possible suspect near 46th Avenue South and South Cloverdale Street, but he fled before officers could reach him. Police flooded the area and spotted a car with five teens inside, four of whom matched the descriptions of the suspects. The car was stopped and police arrested the four and booked them into the Youth Services Center for investigation of robbery. The iPhone was not recovered.

The victim suffered some minor scrapes and bruising to his face, but declined medical treatment.

A 16-year-old boy and 22-year-old man were standing at a bus stop at Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street around 1:20 a.m. Saturday. The boy suddenly grabbed the man's cell phone and took off running.

The victim chased after the boy, armed with a soccer shoe.

The victim caught up with the boy and, according to a police account of the incident, "began liberally applying his shoe" to the robber. The teen apparently decided being arrested was a better option so he ran to a passing patrol car and asked for help, police said.

The teen was arrested and booked into into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery.

A man told police he was robbed of his iPhone last night by a group of young males who then tried to sell it back to him for $100.

The victim declined their offer and instead called police.

The victim called 911 from his home around midnight to report that earlier in the evening he had been using his iPhone while waiting at the bus stop in the 1300 block of First Avenue. A bus stopped and a group of juveniles got off and loitered near the bus stop. The group then surrounded the victim and one of them grabbed the iPhone from the victim and ran away, according to police.

The remaining members of the group told the victim he could get his phone back for $100. The victim declined, went home and called police.

A witness told police he was walking on Seneca around 1:45 a.m. when he saw four people smoking marijuana on the street. He then saw one of the four strike the victim, who was knocked to the ground. The witness then saw one of the suspects get into a black 1990s Toyota or Kia and start it up.

Once the victim was on the ground the two women started stealing his belongings. At one point the females were dragging the victim by the strap of a laptop bag they were trying to take.

The victim suffered minor injuries and was treated by Seattle Fire Department medics.

Police got only vague descriptions of the four suspects, all believed to be in their 20s.

A man waiting for a bus in downtown Seattle was assaulted and robbed last night by four men.

The man was waiting at a bus stop in the 300 block of Pine Street around 11:37 p.m. when two men approached him and asked for money. The men then began assaulting the victim and then two more men joined in the attack. One of the men took the victim's wallet.

Just before 1 this morning the victim called to 911 to report that he had seen at least two of his attackers in the area of Third Avenue and Pine Street. Police responded and took the two men into custody. The victim confirmed they were among the four who had attacked and robbed him.

Remember Fernando Chirinos? He made news in May when he tossed aside his crutches and made a dash for freedom from King County Jail staffers during a hospital visit. He didn't get far.

This week, Chirinos is on trial in King County Superior Court for the escape as well as a host of other charges, including kidnapping, burglary, robbery, forgery and attempted robbery.

Chirinos, 44, is accused of breaking into a Bellevue man's apartment in October 2008. Once the tenant returned home Chirinos, who had a chain in one hand and a knife in the other, ordered the man to sit down, charging papers said.

Chirinos told the man that he belonged to the "South American Mafia" and demanded that the man pay him $4,000 for an iPhone allegedly stolen by another man who had been staying at the same apartment, charging papers said. The alleged iPhone thief had once brought Chirinos there for sex and had reportedly stolen Chirinos' cell phone, court papers said.

In the end, prosecutors say Chirinos stole more than $1,000, checks and a car from the Bellevue tenant. The tenant told police he had never seen Chirinos before.

Police were led to Chirinos through the checks stolen from the Bellevue man.

In May, Chirinos, who was on crutches, fled from jail staff during a visit to Harborview Medical Center, according to King County Jail spokesman Maj. William Hayes. Chirinos threw down some crutches he had been using, jumped over a wall and hobbled toward a car that was stopped at Seventh Avenue and James Street. He dived head-first into the open car window and landed on the woman who was behind the wheel, according to a police report.

A passerby intervened and helped pull Chirinos out of the car by his feet.

Two men were arrested early this morning after a man was knocked unconscious and robbed near Freeway Park. Police are searching for a third suspect.

At 3 a.m., the victim was walking near Hubbell Place and Union Street when he was attacked by at least three men. The victim was knocked unconscious when he was hit with an unknown object, police said.

One witness described seeing one suspect kicking the victim in the head. Officers responded to the area and chased after two suspects. After a short pursuit the suspects were captured with the help of what police described as a "Taser application."

The suspects were positively identified by witnesses and the victim. Both were booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

The third suspect was not located.

The victim was examined and treated by medics at the scene, but declined to go to the hospital.

This was the second reported attack by a group of men in the Freeway Park area within a short time. However, police said the earlier caller was not able to respond to the scene for a possible identification.

Seattle police say several people helped in the arrest of a man who tried to steal a woman's purse last night.

At about 11:17 p.m., the victim and a friend were walking in the 2200 block of First Avenue when they passed a man. After the women walked by, the man attacked one of them, knocking her to the ground. He tried to grab her purse, snapping the shoulder strap.

Security staff from a nearby nightlcub saw the incident and used OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) or pepper spray on the man. This convinced the thug to walk away. Another witness followed the man until police bicycle officers arrived and arrested him.

The victim and witnesses positively identified the man.

He was booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery and assault. The victim was taken to Harborview Medical Center for a medical evaluation, police said.

Police said the man walked into the shop in the 1400 block of East Pine Street just after 11 p.m. and asked the clerk for a brownie. When the clerk returned to the counter with the brownie the man handed her a note demanding cash. The clerk took cash from the till and gave it to the suspect, who then fled east on Pine.

As officers were driving to the robbery call they saw a man who matched the description of the suspect in the 1600 block of 15th Avenue. The man was changing his clothes behind a car with its trunk open.

When the officer turned around to contact him, the man was gone and the car's trunk was closed. The vehicle was impounded.

The suspect is described as a bald black male, about 6 feet tall, approximately 230 pounds.

Seattle police arrested two men and a woman last night after they robbed and assaulted three people at East Union Street and Broadway and then fired a gunshot at a witness who was following their pickup.

Two of the victims told police they were assaulted and robbed by two men at about 9 p.m. When a good Samaritan tried to intervene, he also was assaulted and robbed of his wallet.

A woman drove up to the scene in a pickup and tried to run over one of the victims. The first two robbers jumped into the pickup and they drove off.

A witness followed the suspects until, while near 16th Avenue and East Spring Street, two of the robbers got out of the truck and fired at least one shot at the witness, striking his car. The witness backed off.

Officers arrested the three at 15th Avenue and East Spring Street. The driver, a 22-year-old Hispanic woman, and two Hispanic men, both 19, were booked for investigation of robbery. The driver also was booked for investigation of assault.

Seattle police say the four people in this surveillance photo are suspected of a series of street robberies since Sept. 1. The four pictured here used the credit card of a robbery victim at a convenience store shortly after a robbery, police said. A clerk has been blacked out.

Seattle police have arrested two additional suspects in connection with a series of street robberies in Green Lake, Magnolia and North Seattle. A total of six people have now been arrested, although one suspect has been released pending additional investigation.

The two new suspects, males ages 18 and 16, were arrested on Tuesday in Auburn by Seattle SWAT officers. The suspects have been booked into King County Jail and Youth Service Center, respectively.

Five suspects believed to be involved in the robberies are now in custody, police said.

Seattle police originally thought only four people were responsible for the rash of robberies, police spokesman Mark Jamieson tells Times reporter Sara Jean Green. During interviews with some of the suspects, detectives learned that two others had also been involved in the robberies, he said.

The teens were both arrested at a home in Auburn, but Jamieson said he doesn't think the two are related.

Two of the suspects, Sheena Blackburn, 24, and Jarvis Gibbs, 23, have each been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery. They will be arraigned Oct. 1 in King County Superior Court.

Two other suspects, Clovelle C. Harvey, 20, and Michael L. Alexander, 20, surrendered to police last Thursday. Harvey has been charged with three counts of first-degree robbery. Alexander has been released pending further investigation, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

In all of the robberies, witnesses described the suspects as three or four black males; some witnesses said the men wore dark clothing, sunglasses and bandannas over their faces

Police said a break in the case came when a credit card belonging to the first victim was used at the local convenience store.

In that attack, the victim was walking on Lake City Way Northeast at 2:37 a.m. on Sept. 1 when a car stopped nearby and three men got out. One man asked him for a dollar and when the victim kept walking he was struck in the head and knocked to the ground, according to court documents. The victim said he was kicked by the other two men and his wallet was stolen.

Within a half-hour of the robbery more than $160 in charges were rung up on the man's credit card at a nearby 7-Eleven, police said. Surveillance images from the store were obtained by police and distributed to the media on Monday. That lead to the identification of some of the suspects, police said.

Seattle police say the four people seen in this surveillance photo are being sought in connection with the Sept. 1 robbery of a man on Lake City Way as well as other robberies in North Seattle, Capitol Hill and Magnolia. A clerk has been blacked out.

Seattle police this evening released photos of a group of suspects who are believed to be responsible for a recent group of robberies and attacks in North Seattle since Sept. 1.

The suspects are being sought in connection with the robbery and assault of a man at 2:37 a.m. on Sept. 1 on Lake City Way, police said. The group are also believed to be linked to another eight robberies in North Seattle, Magnolia and Capitol Hill.

The photo was taken in a convenience store, but police would not say whether its connected with the robberies. Police said the store was not robbed.

The most recent robberies occurred Thursday night when five people were robbed in two separate incidents at Green Lake Park near North 65th Street and East Greenlake Way North. On Tuesday, a woman was robbed at gunpoint in the park in the 7200 block of East Greenlake Drive North.

Seattle police are investigating whether the Green Lake robberies are connected with a string of similar robberies in North Seattle, Capitol Hill and Magnolia since Sept. 5. The robberies, seven in all, have occurred between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. and suspect descriptions have been similar, according to police. Victims have described the suspects as two to four black males in their late teens to early 20s. In some cases, they wore bandannas across their faces and baggy clothing.

Despite the presence of a woman in the surveillance photo, none of the robbery victims reported that any of the suspects were female.

Anyone with information the suspects shown in the surveillance photo should call 911 or the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at 206-684-5535. Police say they believe the suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.

Michael and Katie Lambard during a court appearance earlier this month.

A Shoreline couple accused of stealing up to $350,000 from an elderly woman in North Seattle was sentenced this morning to 33 months each in prison.

Prosecutors say Michael and Katie Lambard exploited and drained the accounts of Margaret Martin, who lived in the Ida Culver House, an assisted-living facility. Katie Lambard worked as a driver for Martin, according to court documents.

The Lambards were originally charged in January with more than 30 counts of theft, one for each time they paid themselves out of Martin's bank accounts and credit cards. According to court documents, the Lambard family had befriended Martin, a childless widow, and she firmly believed they were practically family.

The police got involved when Katie Lambard showed up at Toyota of Lake City three different times to buy brand-new cars with checks signed by Martin. A suspicious sales manager called the authorities.

"She died not only having lost her entire estate, but the only family she thought she had at the time," Deputy Prosecutor Page Ulrey said earlier this month in asking for a 41-month prison term for each of the defendants.

The Lambards each entered so-called Alford plea to nine counts of felony theft, which meant they agreed there was enough evidence to convict them but they didn't admit to the crimes.

Martin first met Michael Lambard's mother at church 10 years ago, and hired his sister Tina Lambard to move in with Martin and work as a caregiver and driver.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office has released this sketch of a man who may have robbed as many as 17 tanning salons in Snohomish and King counties. Detectives believe he began his crime spree on July 18 when he robbed a tanning salon in Mill Creek.

On July 22, he robbed a tanning salon in the 17400 block of Highway 9 in unincorporated Snohomish. According to the Sheriff's Office, the man walked into the business, robbed an employee at gunpoint and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspect is described as a white male in his early 20s, 6 feet tall and weighing 200 to 225 pounds with a small pot belly. He has short light brown hair, but may have bleached it blond recently, and blue eyes. He also is described as having a pale, round pudgy face and acne.

It's unknown if detectives think the same man was responsible for a robbery Tuesday night at an Issaquah tanning salon, but there are some similarities in the descriptions.

Anyone with information about the suspect or the robbery is asked to call the Sheriff's Office tip line at 425-388-3845.

Issaquah police are looking for the man who robbed a tanning salon last night.

Police responded to the Emerald City Sun Tanning Center, 1175 N.W. Gilman Blvd., just after 9:30 p.m. after an employee reported a man had just robbed the business. The employee told police the man walked in and acted like and potential customer. He pulled out a handgun and demanded cash.

The employee was ordered to the back of the salon while the armed man fled the store in an unknown direction. Police searched the area but didn't find the suspect.

Police did not disclose how much money was taken.

The suspect was described as white, 30-35 years old, about 6 feet tall, medium build, 180 pounds with short, dark hair. He was wearing a dark baseball hat, black T-shirt and camouflage, knee-length, shorts.

A man and woman were arrested in Everett today in connection with the May 26 robbery of a Mount Vernon pharmacy, according to Mount Vernon police. The 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, who live in Everett, were booked into Skagit County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery.

According to police, Mount Vernon investigators learned that the suspects may have inadvertently called the pharmacy after the robbery. Retracing cell phone records and cross-checking the legitimate business calls helped lead police to the suspects. In addition, a security camera near the pharmacy captured a photo of the suspect's vehicle.

A police report offers no other information on the call to the pharmacy.

Police are now trying to determine if the suspects may be connected with similar crimes in other areas.

Last week, King County jurors found Juan Eras-Duque guilty of three counts of first-degree robbery largely because one of the victims was able to recognize his distinctive red cowboy boots. Eras-Duque faces up to five and a half years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 21.

Eras-Duque, 38, and co-defendant Santos Castillo, 43, robbed the El Abuelo convenience store, 147 Front St. N., in Issaquah, on May 3, 2008, authorities said. Store owner Maria Armenta said Castillo pointed a gun at her and her husband and then ordered them to get on the floor. She said the men then took about $200 from the cash register, stole her cell phone and forced her to give them her wedding rings. The men then pistol-whipped her.

Armenta said that the men also stole about $800 from a customer who walked in on the robbery. The men threatened to return and kill the three victims if they called the police, according to charging papers.

Castillo pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery and is serving about four years in prison, said King County Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Miller. Castillo testified in support of Eras-Duque's claim that another man with red cowboy boots committed the crime. A third suspect was never arrested in connection with the robbery.

Miller said that after the trial jurors told her Armenta's testimony was the most crucial piece of evidence she presented. Though Armenta admitted in court that she couldn't identify the robbers' faces -- she was too frightened during the robbery to look up -- she could easily identify their footwear. Castillo wore white athletic shoes and Eras-Duque wore the telltale red boots.

"Those boots are unique. They're just this wine-colored cowboy boot with a white stripe that is glittery running up the tip," Miller said today. "I have never seen boots like that and neither had any of the officers."

A convicted felon who was shot by a Seattle police detective last week after what they said was a four-day robbery spree was charged today with first-degree and second-degree robbery, attempted first-degree robbery and second-degree assault.

If convicted on the robbery and assault charges, Gerald Tracy faces a third-strike, which will result in an automatic life sentence. The 36-year-old man also was wanted by the state Department of Corrections for violating the terms of his probation when he allegedly caused a chaotic scene in the Crown Hill neighborhood that ended with his shooting last week.

According to police, Tracy walked into a Bank of America branch at 1125 N. 205th Street in Shoreline on Wednesday and passed a robbery note to the teller. Tracy, in the note, threatened to shoot if she didn't give him "all" of the money quickly, according to court charging papers filed today in King County Superior Court.

Tracy walked out of the bank with more than $11,000, but was soon tracked down by police because a man outside the bank jotted down the license plate number from the pickup Tracy was driving and called police, court papers said.The truck had been reported stolen.

Seattle police spotted the vehicle about 90 minutes later on Holman Road Northwest. When police tried to stop the truck at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue North, Tracy rammed a patrol car, charging papers said. When Tracy kept driving erratically Detective Jim Rodgers fired four rounds at the truck. Tracy, who was struck in the arms, stopped the truck after ramming two more cars, charging papers said.

A man's attempt to collect on a bet on the 2008 NBA playoffs will cost him his freedom for a long time.

It took a Seattle jury three hours on Monday to find 28-year-old Jin Woo Kim of Seattle, guilty of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. The Seattle man, who had no previous criminal history, faces up to 21 years in prison when he is sentenced. A sentencing date has not been set.

The victim, Sung Na, said that Kim accused him of stealing money and drugs after Na lost a bet during last year's NBA playoffs. Na claimed he made good on his lost bet on May 30, 2008. But Kim wasn't satisfied. Instead, he thrust a gun against Na's head and ordered him to drive him to a Bank of America branch in the University District. When Na was unable to make a withdrawl, Kim took money from Na's wallet and stole his 1999 Mercedes-Benz.

Na contacted Seattle police the next day. Police searched Kim's house and the cell phone business he managed in the University District. Officers found marijuana in both locations and handguns, assault rifles and ammunition inside his home, according to court charging papers. After his arrest on July 30, Kim told police that he believed Na stole $4,500 from him.

Kim did not testify during his trial in King County Superior Court.

"What he did is awful. He scared the victim so bad that the victim didn't leave his house for two days," said King County Deputy Prosecutor Kathy Ungerman.

A Des Moines man got more than he bargained for when he hired an 18-year-old woman as a prostitute on June 11, according to court charging papers.

The two were in the middle of a sex act at the man's apartment when a group of men showed up, claiming to be police officers. Prosecutors allege that woman tipped off the group of men to their whereabouts.

The men shoved the Des Moines man to the floor and bound his hands and feet, court papers said. The man's face and head were covered in a red cloth.

The intruders told the victim that they would shoot him if he moved, court papers said. The victim was struck in the face several times and felt somebody combing through his pockets -- taking his wallet, his cell phone and his keys. The attackers told the man they would shoot him if he didn't give them his bank card PIN number, according to court papers.

The group of men then carried the victim out of his apartment and into a van, court papers said. The van stopped three times. At the third stop, the man was carried out and taken into a vacant home in Kent, where he was tied to a cabinet in the laundry room. Once the group was gone the man freed himself and went to a nearby house and called for help.

Kent police searched the vacant house and were tipped to the identity of the suspects after finding a school identification card for a youth who had run away from home, court papers said. Police showed up at an known address for the missing youth and found several of the suspects, court papers said.

King County prosecutors say that five males, Damon Zeigler, Javez Tubbs, Japgurjap Singh, Roy Simmons and Domanick Gaskin, and a female, Shinau Ordonia, have been charged as adults for June 11 robbery and kidnapping. One 17-year-old boy has also been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.

The victims told officers that three black men, ages 18 to late-20s, all armed with handguns, had followed their car until they pulled into the gas station. Once there, the three suspects got out of a dark blue Chevy Impala and demanded the victims' cash.

The suspects were last seen driving westbound from the gas station on South Holly Street.

The victims told officers that they recognized the suspects from previous encounters.

Seattle police said a 24-year-old woman used a fork to rob two pedestrians of their cash near the Northgate Mall late Monday, before fleeing in an SUV with two men.

Officers later tracked down the vehicle and arrested all three people inside, recovering a wad of cash and the fork apparently used during the crime, Seattle police spokeswoman Renee Witt said.

The incident occurred just before 11 p.m., when police were called to an area just east of the Northgate Mall, near First Avenue Northeast and Northeast 107th , Witt said.

A woman there said she and a companion were walking down the street, when a black Cadillac Escalade rolled up, a woman got out, waved what appeared to be a knife and demanded cash.

After both pedestrians handed over an undisclosed amount of money, Witt said, the robber got back into the SUV and fled.

Police later stopped the vehicle and arrested two men, both 25, and the woman, Witt said. Police say they also recovered the weapon used in the robbery, determining it was "a fork held in such a manner as to appear to be a knife," Witt said.

The victims later identified the suspects, who were booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery. One of the men had been arrested previously and convicted in connection with a bank robbery, Witt said.

A 36-year-old Everett man charged with breaking into a Wallingford home last fall and raping a woman while her husband was out picking up formula for their baby told jurors that he knew his victim before entering her home.

Sankarandi Skanda, who also goes by the name Franklin David Antill, made the claim this morning during the start of his rape trial in King County Superior Court trial. He is acting as his own attorney.

He claims that the 34-year-old alleged victim had tried to hire him to kill her husband and even offered her $14,000 wedding ring as payment. Skanda alleges that the woman had been abused by her husband. But Superior Court Judge Douglas North has barred Skanda from bringing up allegations of abuse before jurors -- and cautioned Skanada when he tried to mention them during his opening statement.

Skanda is charged with first-degree rape, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. Seattle police said he attacked the woman at knifepoint on Oct. 20. The woman's two young children and their nanny were in the home when the assault happened.

Skanda, who was accused of raping a woman in Idaho in 1998, has been convicted of escaping from prison as well as several burglaries.

"The evidence doesn't lie. The facts don't lie," Skanda said in his opening statement.

A 17-year-old boy was shot once in the leg during a robbery early this morning at Rainier Avenue South and 51st Avenue South. The SPD's gang unit is investigating.

At 1:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of a shooting and found the wounded teen in the 9300 block of 51st Avenue South. The victim had been shot three times in the leg. He was treated at the scene before being taken to Harborview Medical Center.

Based on information provided by the victim and witnesses, police stopped a group of teens at Rainier Avenue South and Henderson Street. Five males and one female were positively identified as being involved in the incident, according to police. The six were booked into the Youth Service Center for investigation of robbery. Officers recovered shell casings from the area along with the victim's property and a handgun.

Witnesses told officers that the victim and his friends were walking in the 9200 block of Rainier Avenue South when they got into an argument with the suspects. The suspects robbed the victim and his friends of their backpacks and one of the teens pulled out a handgun and shot the victim in the leg.

The News Tribune in Tacoma says in a story today about a couple of 12-year-old boys sitting on a bench and eating candy in Pierce County's South Hill area earlier this month when they were robbed of their cell phones, a wallet, cash and some Chuck E. Cheese coupons, according to the Pierce County sheriff's office.

What's more, the 12-year-old boys had shared their candy with the teens only 15 minutes earlier. The boys gave up the stolen items after the teens threatened to beat them up and break their jaws.

Police are looking for two men who robbed a Columbia City business Tuesday morning.

At 11:53 a.m., police responded to a report of an armed robbery of a business in the 5000 block of Rainier Avenue South. Two men had entered the business and walked behind the counter towards the cash register. When an employee approached them, one of the men pulled out a knife and struck the victim on the head with the handle. The employee struggled with the armed man, and suffered a cut to his hand when he grabbed the knife blade.

The robbers then took an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene. Police could not find the pair.

A Tacoma convenience store clerk fought back Tuesday when a would-be robber with a stick spiked with nails demanded cash, Tacoma police told The News Tribune.

The man went into the store at East 72nd Street and McKinley Avenue just before 2:40 a.m., police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The man demanded money from the clerk and swung the stick, hitting the clerk in the hand, Fulghum said. The clerk punched the man in the face, and he dropped the stick before fleeing with a bloody nose, Fulghum said.

At 1:47 a.m., the bicyclist was taunted and then assaulted by a group of males and females at Third and Pike, according to Seattle police. The assailants took the man's bicycle and helmet. A passerby was able to retrieve the bike and return it to the victim.

When the victim approached the group of thugs and asked for his helmet back, one of them pulled out a stun gun and threatened the victim. Police stopped the group of suspects at First Avenue and Pine Street. Two were positively identified, although more were involved. Officers recovered two stun guns.

Two males -- a juvenile and an adult -- were arrested for investigation of robbery.

Tacoma police have arrested three teenagers suspected of using the online classified-ad site Craigslist to lure robbery victims to Tacoma, according to The Tacoma News Tribune.

The three -- an 18-year-old man and two 16-year-old boys -- were arrested Thursday during a sting operation.

"Our guys responded to one of their Craigslist ads, and they made contact and agreed to meet," Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum tells The News Tribune. "Instead of being met by the 'victims,' they were met by the SWAT team."

Detectives believe the trio is behind a series of heists where people responding to ads - usually for cars - have been threatened, attacked or robbed. In one case, a Bellevue man was beaten with a hammer, Fulghum said.

Seattle police arrested a man suspected of robbing three women who were aboard a Metro Transit bus.

At 7:10 p.m. Friday, three women on a downtown bus were preparing to watch a video on an iPod when a man grabbed the iPod and ran out of the bus. The women chased after the man and he punched at least two of them.

The women followed the man and called 911.

Police found the suspect at Third Avenue and James Street, where he was arrested. The man was booked into the King County Jail on investigation of robbery.

Everett police are investigating two pharmacy robberies in the past six days that may be the work of the same suspects. The video above shows the suspects leaving the scene of the first robbery.

The robberies occurred at 9 a.m. on May 8, and 5:45 p.m. on May 13. In each of the robberies two suspects armed with handguns, both wearing a mask over their face, walked into two separate pharmacies in Everett and robbed them at gunpoint. The suspects ordered customers to the floor and then one suspect demanded the pharmacy employee to give them all of their narcotics.

Witnesses in both robberies said they saw the robbers flee in a gold sedan. Some described the car as a Volvo, while another witness thought it might be a Toyota Camry.

The suspects are both believed to be white males in the 20s. Both are between 5-feet-6 and 5-feet-9, with slender builds.

The May 8 robbery occurred at a pharmacy in the 200 block of East Casino Road. In that robbery the suspects got away with several thousands of dollars of narcotics. The second occurred at a pharmacy in the 3300 block of Nassau Street. The amount of loss at this pharmacy is still being determined.

Anyone with information on the robberies are asked to call the Everett Police Department TIP LINE at 425-257-8450.

The King County Sheriff's Office is looking for an armed robber -- and a victim -- in connection with an armed robbery early Wednesday morning at a 7-Eleven store southeast of Federal Way. They have released this surveillance video of the robbery in hopes someone will recognize the suspect or victim.

The robbery occurred about 2:25 a.m. at the 7-Eleven located at 34051 Military Road South in unincorporated King County. The robber held the clerk at gunpoint and forced her to empty two cash registers as a female customer was standing at the counter.

As the robber was leaving, he grabbed the customer in a chokehold and dragged her out of the business. The woman was pulled across the parking lot before she was released. The suspect ran off and the woman did not return to the store.

The suspect is described as Asian or Pacific Islander, about 5-feet-6 and over 200 pounds. He was wearing a blue baseball hat, black sunglasses, dark sweatshirt, dark pants and black gloves. He was about 25 years old.

The kidnap victim was also about 25 years old, perhaps 5-feet-4 and 120 pounds.

Any with information on either the suspect or the victim are asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311 or 911.

A 27-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to robbing a pharmacy and attempting to rob a second. Daniel B. Douglas faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 31.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Douglas admitted that on Feb. 7 he robbed the Rite-Aid pharmacy at 7500 196th St. S.W. in Lynnwood of multiple bottles of oxycodone pills and fled with the pills.

On Feb. 19, Douglas walked into the Bob Johnson Pharmacy at 1407 N.W .85th St. in Seattle and presented a note to the pharmacist indicating he had a gun and demanding oxycodone. The pharmacist returned to the counter with a semi-automatic Glock pistol, which he pointed at Douglas. Douglas left the store.

He was arrested by Seattle police later that evening.

Our news partners at KING-TV have reported on the increase in pharmacy robberies in the state. Their report can be viewed by clicking here.

Two men and a 16-year-old girl have been arrested in connection with a takeover robbery on April 15 at a restaurant in the 400 block of North 35th Street.

The night manager was closing the restaurant for the night at around 2 a.m. when two men and girl entered the business wearing bandanas over their faces. One was armed with a handgun. The suspects forced the manager into the back office area, where they tied him up and robbed the store. The suspects then fled and the manager was able to call 911.

On Wednesday, detectives were able to track down one of the suspects and arrest him in the University District. The 29-year-old man was interviewed by detectives, and they developed information about the suspect's accomplices. The other two suspects, a 22 -year-old man and a 16-year-old girl, were located and arrested. The two men were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery. The girl was interviewed and released to the custody of her mother.

Might be tough to track down this robbery suspect in Bellingham. He's described as a white man in his 20s, dressed in blue jeans, black and blue flannel shirt -- and a motorcycle helmet. How many white guys in jeans and flannel ride a motorcycle?

Bellingham police say the man robbed the Haggen's store in the 2900 block of Woburn Street at around 2 this morning. The cashier told police that a weapon was not displayed but it was implied. The suspect, who apparently never removed his helmet, fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police say the suspect also is about 5-feet-11 and weighs about 165 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Green at 360-778-8820.

At about 5:40 a.m., the man knocked on the window of the espresso stand and ordered a drink. While the barista was preparing the drink, the man demanded money. When the victim turned to face the suspect she saw that he was pointing a handgun at her. The victim gave the money to the suspect, who then left on foot.

The suspect is described by police as a light-skinned Hispanic in his mid-20s, about 5-feet-6, 120 pounds with very distinctive black lower teeth. He was wearing a black pin-striped hoodie and black bandana.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect in the sketch or has any information regarding this case are asked to call the Everett Police Department TIP LINE at 425-257-8540.

A 22-year-old California woman told police that she was and assaulted by three muscular men with buzz cuts. And worst of all, they stole her tail.

According to a Seattle police report, the woman was wearing a fox costume when she left a rave at or near the Washington State Convention & Trade Center early Sunday morning. She was walking in the 700 block of Pike Street, where she was accosted by three men who ripped the tail off her costume.

The woman tried to retrieve the tail and was thrown against a wall, police said. She then grabbed one of the men, put him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground. But, according to the police report, "the suspect seemed to laugh at her like it was a big joke."

Two witnesses called police but did not intervene in the tail-snatching incident.

Neither the tail nor the suspects were found by police.The only description offered of the assailants was that they were muscular, white and had buzz cuts.

Two men were arrested early this morning after a home-invasion robbery at The Madison at Ridgetop apartments at 1157 Voyager Lane Northwest in Silverdale.

According to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the apartment at around 12:50 a.m. after a neighbor complained of a disturbance. When deputies arrived they looked through a window and saw two masked men had tied up three people -- a woman and two men -- inside the apartment.

Deputies forced their way into the apartment and began fighting with the two masked men, both of whom appeared to be armed. After the men were subdued, deputies found one was armed with a handgun and the other had a realistic-looking pellet gun.

The two men arrested were a 22-year-old, who was also wanted on an outstanding 2006 arrest warrant for robbery; and a 19-year-old.

The motive for the home invasion appears to be robbery, the Sheriff's Office said. Deputies are trying to determine why that specific apartment was targeted.

In addition, deputies want to question the occupants of a black 2005 Hyundai Accent in connection with the robbery. The car's Washington license plate number is 948-WCK.

According to police, man armed with a small handgun robbed the barista at about 6:48 p.m. and then fled north on12th Avenue Northeast. Police responded and checked the area, but were unable to locate the suspect, who was described as between the ages of 25 and 30, approximately 5-feet-8 and140 pounds. He wore a cream-colored beanie with holes, a black sweatshirt, white T-shirt and blue jeans.

Seattle police are looking for a man who broke into a restaurant early this morning and then attacked the owner.

According to police, the man broke out the glass in the front door of a restaurant in the 1700 block of North 45th Street just after 2 a.m. Once inside the business, the man took cash from the cash register.

The business owner, who was upstairs, went downstairs and confronted the man. The owner and the man got into a fight and the owner was struck on the head with a heavy jar. The man was able to break free and ran out of the restaurant, police said.

Police arrived and tried to tried to track the robber with a K-9 unit but had no luck. The victim was treated at the scene by Seattle Fire Department medics.

The two victims told police they were at a bus stop when they were approached by two men wearing bandannas around their faces. Both suspects displayed small, black handguns and took the victims' backpacks and cell phones.

The suspects left on foot and the victims called police after a 10- to 15-minute delay. A thorough area search for the suspects was conducted, but the suspects remain at large. Some of the victims' property was recovered by officers later in the 5100 block of South Kenyon Street.

Just after 3 p.m. Thursday, a man grabbed a ring from the hand of the owner of Johanna's Fine Jewelry Design, 1403 Ave. D, in Snohomish, and ranout of the store.

The owner later remembered that before the robbery he overheard the same man saying that he needed money to bail his girlfriend out of jail. The owner even heard the first name of the girlfriend.

Once police learned this information, they checked records at the Snohomish County Jail. Sure enough, a woman by the same name had just been bailed out of jail. Police contacted the bail bonds company that had arranged for the release and learned the man who paid the bond has used a ring for collateral.

Two armed men roughed up a store clerk before leaving with a cash register during a robbery last night in the High Point neighborhood.

The victim told police that at about 10:40 p.m. two men in their 30s, wearing gloves and ski masks, walked into the business in the 7500 block of 35th Avenue Southwest. One was armed with a large butcher knife and the other was armed with a shotgun or similar weapon, police said.

The men demanded money from the cash register and then grabbed the entire register and fled. A police K-9 unit tracked to an alley a half a block away, where it appears the suspects left in a vehicle.

The clerk was treated by Seattle Fire medics for lacerations he sustained during the struggle with one of the suspects. He was later transported to Harborview Medical Center.

Everett police still can't say with 100 percent certainty that the man who was found dead on an Everett street last week is the same man who robbed a convenience store just a short distance away, but Sgt. John DeRousse said they're "not looking for any other suspects."

According to DeRousse, Everett police spokesman, a man wearing a mask walked into an AM/PM convenience store at 220 S.E. Everett Mall Way just after midnight on Friday and handed the clerk a note demanding money. The clerk handed over some money and the man made his getaway on a bicycle.

Everett police surrounded the area and a police K-9 unit was called in to track the suspect. A few blocks away, the K-9 unit came upon the body of a deceased man on Third Avenue Southeast. Nearby was a bicycle.

The man was identified as 42-year-old Rian William Erny of Everett. He had cash in his pocket and matched a description of the suspect. The store clerk reportedly told police that the dead man and the robber were wearing the same outfit. However, because the robber was wearing a mask, the store clerk could not positively identify the man as Erny, DeRousse said.

Everett police have two mysteries on their hands: who robbed the AM/PM store at 220 S.E. Everett Mall Way early this morning and who is the dead man found lying nearby.

According to police, a man walked into the store just after midnight and handed the clerk a note demanding money. The clerk handed over some money and the man made his getaway -- on a bicycle.

Everett police surrounded the area and a police K-9 officer and dog tracked away from the store in search of the suspect. They found a man's body a few blocks north of the store on Third Avenue Southeast. The man matched the general description of the suspect and a bicycle was lying nearby. There was no obvious signs of trauma to the body, police said.

No other suspects were located during the K-9 track.

Police ask that anyone with information on the robbery or the dead man call the Everett Police Department TIP LINE at 425-257-8450.

Witnesses said the man came into the business about 9:40 p.m., ordered a sandwich and attempted to pay with a credit card that was declined. The man left the store, but returned a few minutes later and asked for a job application. When the clerk went behind the counter to get one the man followed him.

He forced the clerk to open the cash register, implying he had a weapon in his pocket. The suspect took handfuls of cash and left. A police K-9 tracked the man's scent to the rear of the store, but lost it.

A 25-year-old Snohomish man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to a spree of bank and espresso stand robberies in December and January. David E. Hayes faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced b July.

Hayes admitted he committed four bank robberies and two espresso stands in a spree that began on Christmas Eve when he stole a car that was idling outside a Mount Vernon home. The next morning, Hayes robbed Cowgirl Espresso in Everett while driving the stolen car.

On Dec. 28, Hayes robbed a U.S. Bank branch in Marysville. On Jan. 14, he robbed the U.S. Bank branch on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle. Two days later, he robbed a Bank of America branch in Arlington. And on Jan. 22, Hayes robbed a Washington Mutual branch in Bothell. That same day, Hayes robbed Morgan's Espresso in Mount Vernon.

In his plea agreement, Hayes agreed to pay $4,184 in restitution to the banks and the espresso stands even though the espresso stand robberies are not charged in the federal case.

After his arrest on Jan. 25, Hayes told officers that he committed the robberies to pay debts he owed in connection with his serious heroin addiction. He said he owed money to the drug dealers, and feared for his safety.

Bremerton police have arrested a man after he robbed a McDonald's restaurant at gunpoint early this morning.

Police were called to an armed robbery at the McDonald's on Kitsap Way at 5:48 a.m after a 27-year-old Silverdale man entered the restaurant armed with a loaded rifle and ordered the a customer to get behind the counter. The man detained two other employees and the customer in the rear of the restaurant.

Meanwhile, another employee had escaped out of the restaurant and called 911.

The armed man ordered the manager to empty the safe. He then put two of the victims into the freezer and had the manager open the back door. The robber fled out the rear door of the restaurant and began to leave the parking lot when he was confronted by officers responding to the scene.

The man surrendered and was taken into custody.

No one was injured during the incident. The suspect was booked into the Kitsap County Jail for investigation of first-degree robbery. Bail was set at $250,000.

Seattle police are looking for a man who robbed a 7-Eleven store early this morning.

At 1:23 a.m., a man walked into the store in the 100 block of Northeast 50th Street, brandished a rifle and demande a rilfe. The man took cash and two cartons of cigarettes and fled northbound, police said.

A police K9 unit responded but couldn't find the man.

The suspect is described as in his late 20s. He wore a a hooded jacket and bandanna over his face.

One of three people arrested early this morning after they allegedly robbed a home at gunpoint is the son of the victim, according to Seattle police.

At 1:13 this morning, two men and a woman entered a home in the 3000 block of Harbor Avenue Southwest. The men, claiming to be armed, took numerous items, including a laptop, flat screen TV, a purse and a set of car keys. The suspects fled in a black Nissan with a temporary plate in the rear window.

Police spotted the vehicle and followed it south on Interstate 5 until stopping it at exit 154. All three suspects were taken into custody and the stolen property was recovered from the vehicle. The suspects were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

One of the suspects was later identified as the son of the victim. Police said the three people didn't even bother to wear disguises during the robbery.

Times staff reporter Sara Jean Green is following the story and will post an update shortly on The Times' Web site.

Cycling activists are wondering how to protect themselves after a bike commuter was robbed of his wallet last week along the Interstate 90 bike route in Seattle.

The crime happened just after 5 p.m. Thursday, as the victim, a Beacon Hill man, was riding through Sam Smith Park, west of the I-90 Mount Baker bike tunnel. The cyclist said he was yanked off his bike by "two hoodlums in all black wearing hockey masks," one of whom punched him in the face.

After contacting police, he wrote a detailed account to online forums at the Cascade Bicycle Club and point83.com. Between condolences, other cyclists suggested riding in groups, carrying a baton weapon, or going to neighborhood anti-crime meetings.

"If automobile drivers were regularly being pulled from their cars and beaten, there would be a tremendous response from media and police," wrote bicyclist Ben Feigert of Seattle.

Seattle police today are investigating the second reported home-invasion robbery in the city in as many days.

At approximately 12:35 this morning, police responded to a call of a robbery inside a home in the 1700 block of Northeast 55th Street. According to police, two men forced their way into a rear door of the home.

One of the men, armed with a handgun, gathered the residents in one place. A second man, armed with some sort of a club, walked one of the residents throughout the house gathering up electronics items. That man then struck the victim in the head several times before both men fled the home.

Patrol officers and a K9 unit conducted a search of the area, but could not locate the suspects.

Seattle police say they don't have much of a description of two men who broke into a home Saturday and held a man at knifepoint. The home-invasion robbery happened at around noon in the 2500 block of 32nd Avenue South.

According to the victim, two men broke into his home and pushed him down while brandishing a knife toward him. The victim was not injured. The suspects fled the house in an unknown direction.

Officers responded to the area with a K9 unit, but were unable to find the suspects. It was unclear whether anything was taken.

Home-invasion robberies are rare. Generally, home-invasion robberies are more common among people who are connected to the victims, according to police.

Have you seen this guy? The King County Sheriff's Office hopes you have, and can identify him.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Suspected robber.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Suspected robber.

The man has robbed the Lucky 7 grocery store, 9618 4th Ave. S.W., twice in less than two weeks, and may have robbed a store in Seattle as well. The Lucky 7 robberies occurred at 1:40 p.m. Jan. 27th and 8:15 a.m. Feb. 7.

In both robberies the suspect violently pushed the 71-year-old female clerk to the ground then went to the cash register and stole cash and Lottery tickets. No gun or other weapon was seen.

The suspect is about 5-feet-2 or 5-feet-3, about around 135 pounds. He was clean-cut and 18 to 19 years old. He wore a NY Yankees baseball hat. In one of robberies he wore a hoody as well.

In the first robbery the man was seen fleeing the scene in a silver, 2-door, Mercedes or BMW.

If anyone has information about these crimes or recognizes the suspect they are asked to call the King County Sheriff's Office at 206-296-3311, or 911.

Seattle police are searching for two armed men who robbed a Beacon Hill clothing store Saturday night.

At 8:02 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call at a clothing store in the 2500 block of 15th Avenue South. The victim reported that two men, armed with handguns, robbed the store and then fled. Nobody was injured during the robbery and no shots were fired.

A police K-9 unit responded and conducted an unsuccessful search for the suspects.

Police said it wasn't immediately known what was taken during the robbery.

Kirkland police say they have arrested two men in connection with the recent robberies of several Latino businesses. The men were arrested Thursday night north of Kirkland, in unincorporated King County, according to a Kirkland police news release.

The suspects were each arraigned Friday on eight counts of robbery.

The robberies occurred over a three-month period.

Last month, Kirkland police released a drawing of one of the men believed to be responsible for the robberies (right) after the robbery of a Kirkland store on Jan. 16. In that incident, an employee of a Latino market in the 12000 block of 124th Avenue Northeast was robbed by two men who gestured to handguns tucked into their waistbands. One of the suspects was described as about 5-feet-4, with a thin build. He was in his late 20s. He is the man pictured in the sketch.

A second suspect was a mid-to-late 20s man, about 5-feet-9.

Police have identified eight other similar robberies of Latino businesses in Redmond, Bellevue, Seattle, King and Snohomish counties.

King County sheriff's deputies stopped a suspected stolen car Monday and not only arrested three men for investigation of the theft, they also apprehended a robbery suspect.

According to Seattle police, a woman was walking in the 13000 block of Greenwood Avenue North at about 3:19 p.m. when another woman threatened to stab her if she did not hand over her iPod. After the victim complied, the suspect then got into a stolen vehicle with three men inside.

The car headed east on North 130th Street from Greenwood Avenue North. A short time later King County sheriff's deputies stopped the vehicle at Northeast 130th Street and 5th Avenue Northeast and took the four occupants into custody. The robbery victim positively identified the female suspect, and she was arrested and booked for investigation of robbery. King County sheriff's deputies handled the three men and the stolen vehicle.

Snohomish County sheriff's detectives are hoping someone recognizes the man in the photograph who robbed a Lynnwood-area convenience store late last month.

The robbery occurred at 10:14 p.m. Jan. 31. The man entered the store in the 16400 block of 36th Avenue West, pulled out a handgun and demanded cash. A customer walked in a short time later and the suspect fled without any cash.

The suspect is about 5-feet-10 and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and white bandana over his face.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's tip-line at 425-388-3845.

University of Washington police are adding extra patrols to the Greek Row and residential area north of the campus after a spate of robberies since early January and a reported rape of a woman at a fraternity house on Saturday.

Four officers will now patrol the area on Sundays and Mondays instead of two.That means four officers will now be patrolling the area every night of the week, said Ralph Robinson, UW assistant police chief.

On Jan. 22, in response to robberies of students in the area, the department boosted the number of officers working Tuesday to Saturday from two to four and on Sundays and Mondays from zero to two. Most of the officers are being paid overtime, Robinson said.

Seattle police plan to add more bike officers in the University District, although the timing and details haven't been decided, a department spokeswoman said.

While crime in the area north of the campus is down overall, Robinson said the spike in activity marks the second year in a row that serious crime has jumped there in January and February.

Last year, the department put out four federally required alerts to students in January and early February following robberies and assaults in the area, Robinson said. This year, seven alerts have been issued, he said.

Robinson said the downturn in the economy might be a factor for the recent crimes, or the perception that students returning from the holiday break are carrying new items such as cell phones and iPods.

"Maybe it is just perceived as easy pickings," he said.

No major crimes have been reported on campus since early January, Robinson said.

Police said the victims were confronted around 1:29 a.m. by several men who demanded their property. When the victims failed to comply, several suspects assaulted them, punching and kicking two of them. A third victim ran from the scene but was injured when he was chased through a thicket of bushes.

After assaulting the victims, the suspects robbed them, according to police.The suspects then fled in the direction of Greek Row. Officers developed information that led them to a frat house in the 2100 block of Northeast 47th Street.

Officers located and arrested four suspects inside the frat house, police said. Three suspects were determined to have been involved in the robbery while the fourth suspect was arrested for an outstanding warrant. All four were booked into the King County Jail: three for investigation of robbery and one for the outstanding warrant.

The police release doesn't specify the frat house where the arrests were made, nor does it say whether the suspects are members. Updates will be posted on The Seattle Times Web site.

On Friday, three Fort Lewis soldiers were charged in connection with recent attacks and robberies of UW students.